He was named as a player in the immigration scandal of 2002 - and for some time Jose Shoman has been casually linked but never solidly connected to any illicit activity. And during that time, the conventional wisdom was that Shoman enjoyed some level of political protection – from a Musa administration that he had ties with. But with the change of political directorate – it seems that protection is not as powerful as it once was – as Shoman’s home on the Northern Highway was vigorously searched today. And it created quite a buzz this morning to see the police converge on Shoman’s mansion. Here’s how it went.
Jules Vasquez Reporting,
When 7NEWS arrived on the scene at 9:00 am, police were putting up a ladder to get over the fence. They had been banging on and banging at the imperious door for about a half an hour. When they got in, they greeted Shoman at the entrance, presented him with a warrant – and he opened the gate.
But one thinks that he surely could have seen them knocking outside as the compound is covered by surveillance cameras. The K-9 unit was also asked to respond to assist in the search. But while the dog was ushered in, police continued to clamber over the 9 foot fence.
And that’s all that we could see happening from the outside for about 5 hours. The police – over a dozen of them were inside the home searching all three floors and the verandah - even getting lunch while the media camped outside stealing glances at a couple BMWs and a Hummer.
In fact about the most interesting thing that happened was when this police Wingle, only two weeks old, pulled out of from in front of the Shoman home without clearing traffic and crashed into this Toyota Corolla, blocking traffic for miles.
That was the height of excitement until just after two – 5 hours after the search started when police drove into the compound and shortly after raced out with Shoman inside and whatever evidence they had gathered.
Police found an unlicensed shotgun and ammunition. Now for any regular citizen – that will get you at least one night in lockdown as police process charges. But getting the preferred treatment reserved for some, Shoman’s charges were expeditiously processed and through another special arrangement with the Magistrate’s Court – he got a late-scheduled hearing this evening, just before 5:00.
He was arraigned before Chief Magistrate Margaret McKenzie on charges of possession of an unlicensed firearm – which was a pump action shotgun and kept ammunition in quantities greater than specified in his license. In total, he had over 300 rounds of ammunition; a license usually permits 100 rounds. He pleaded not guilty and was offered and met bail of $5,000 for each charge. He will re-appear in court on June 11th.
